Everything living and moving abruptly came to a halt upon seeing this. The lower wolves could not bear to watch their king get a blade up its ass, but didn't move from shadows of the trees. They were afraid of Lee's killing spree. They could only hope their king would defeat this two-legged pest.
Lee's blade made the king wolf numb. The immense pain that flooded its whole body was too much for it. Lee pulled his blade out and chopped its fluffy tail in the process. To lose a tail was equal to losing its reason to live. King wolf's eyes were bloodshot. It turned to jump on Lee the next instant. Lee was successful in enraging the king wolf to its peak. His idea was to piss off king wolf so much that it loses all reason to live. He watched the beast as it was slowly floating towards him. Lee corrected his stance, half-squatted, and his blade was ready to slice its neck. He took two steps backward as the king wolf was about to reach him. Lee leaned to his left and raised his torso, while the blade in his right hand drew an arc in the air, through the king's neck!
The king wolf fell with a thud. It's wobbling legs were too weak to support its body. It finally realised Lee's strategy as it felt pain below its neck. A pool of blood was starting to flow around its head. It glanced at Lee. Its eyes were no longer bloodshot and enraged, but full of shock and appreciation. This wild beast knew to accept defeat and appreciate the victor. The king wolf began to breathe rough and its humongous body finally quieted down. None moved from their spot. It was as if time was stopped.
The wolves came to their senses and began to flee far and wide. Since their king was dead, they have to form a new pack with a new leader. Their shadows scattered into the depths of forest.
Lee was barely holding up. Beneath the wolves' blood smeared on him, he was thoroughly wounded. His Health only had 2 points left. Making sure that beast was finally dead, he lost his balance and stumbled forward. Before he fell, he thrusted his blade to the ground for support. Guards on the wall saw these unbelievable acts and were stupefied. Darwin came back to his senses and roared at the guards beside him.
"Bring a stretcher. Get him inside the wall. Treat and heal his wounds. He must not die!"
The guards recovered from the shock and rushed to get the youngster inside the wall. They supported the barely alive Lee on their shoulders and laid him on a stretcher. Four men carried him inside while others guarded them. The gate was closed and Lee was taken to treat his wounds. Men, women and children came out of their shelters and saw the brave youngman who single-handedly defended against a pack of wolves and its king. The village's medicinemen were summoned to treat the wounds. Lee had already fallen asleep from immense fatigue of overnight work.
D was looking at Lee's soul with an amused expression. D channeled Lee's Vitality to his bones and muscles. Vitality could also be used to speed up the healing process. When a warm current of energy started flowing through him, a faint smile bloomed on his face.
--------------------
The chirping of birds and a faint noise welcomed Lee when he came back to senses. He opened his eyes and saw an unfamiliar wooden roof above him. He saw an elderly woman sitting near his bed. She was as old as Paulo and had a tinge of care and kindness in her eyes. Lee tried to move, but the woman spoke softly-
"Stay still. You were wounded pretty bad from the attack. Lucky that you survived." (Woman)
"Where am I?! How long was I unconscious?!" (Lee)
"I'm the village medicineman's wife. You're in our house. You were unconscious for almost a day. You will feel numb for sometime, but will be good soon"(Woman)
"Almost a day?! What about the wolves' body and my blade?!" (Lee)
"The dead bodies of wolves are all piled up inside the village. Your blade is on the table." (Woman)
She pointed to a table across the room. Lee stretched his neck and saw his blade kept on the table. The woman felt it would be good to give him some time alone. So she walked out and closed the door.
'D, report!'
[As you know, you completed the quest and have obtained 200 Essence. The total Essence you have is 380.]
'Alright, show me my attribute panel'
====================
Name: Lee
Age: 20
Title: Newbie, Grim-reaper
Fame: 498
Essence: 180
----------
Health: 40
Strength: 40
Vitality: 40
Agility: 40
Defense: 40
Endurance: 40
Sense: 40
Intelligence: 30
Resolve: 30
Immunity:-
----------
Qi: 0
Mana: 0
====================
Lee sighed and silently lay down. He had questions everytime he saw his status. His body felt heavy, but not something that could keep him in bed. A sudden realisation hit him that he was lying on bed naked, with only a cover of a blanket. He scanned around and saw his jacket, pants and shoes clean and kept on the table beside his blade.
Lee slowly got up and sluggishly walked towards the table. He wore his pants and shoes, and was about to wear his jacket when Paulo and the village medicine-man entered the room. There was a visible amazement of his face. Lee didn't mind Paulo staring at him, and quickly wore the jacket and grabbed his blade from the table. He turned and slowly walked past both towards the door.
Lee was blinded by the bright sunlight. He raised his hand to block the light and his vision adjusted to the brightness. The village was in full-swing and alive with people. Behind the protective walls of the village lay a dense and spooky forest. It was the first time he saw the beauty of the village he was in. About 100 meters away, he saw Darwin speaking with a serious face to some unfamiliar persons mounted on horses. Among them was one white robed middle-age woman with long, black hair. She was undeniably a cultivator because she had a sword with her. Beside her were some fellow female warriors armed to the teeth. Lee was curious on how cultivators and warriors are in the same flock. So, he walked slowly towards them. On his way, villagers who saw him bowed and smiled at him with reverence.
Darwin noticed the change in atmosphere and looked around. He was happy to see Lee alive and walking. His visible facial change piqued the interest of those mounted people. They saw Lee and deduced that he was the guy Darwin was talking about. They climbed down from their mounts and stood near Darwin. Lee was puzzled from their behaviour.
'I hope nothing wrong happens. I'm still recovering, am I not, D?!'
[Yup, you still have minor wounds on you. They'll heal in no time. Just don't initiate another fight!]
'Copy that!'
As Lee neared them, Darwin asked in a happy voice.
"You sure you're human?! You fought a whole pack and its king, and is still walking?" (Darwin)
Lee could only smile awkwardly. He scratched his head with no answer. Before anyone could speak a word, A tall and curvaceous figure with a beautiful white face and hazel hair stepped forward. She bowed with respect and spoke-
"I am Freya Elozin, leader of 9th Emergency Action Squad stationed in the city of Lorin, by the great King Aizil Trach, ruler of the kingdom Venus. I hereby extend my gratitude in helping this village to defend against the unexpected attack of wolves. I was send by Mayor to examine the unexpected migration of wolves. You shall be rewarded for your courageous acts upon returning to the city of Lorin."
Lee glanced at Darwin with no idea of what was happening. Darwin understood what Lee meant and nodded slightly. Lee mustered courage and uttered three words-
"Yes, Thank you!"
Freya frowned on Lee's response. Darwin felt helpless and wanted to facepalm, but he resisted. He understood that Lee is not well versed in formal greetings and etiquettes.
"Miss Freya, Lee is a wanderer and unaware of formal etiquettes. Please be understanding." (Darwin)
While Darwin was narrating how they met him on the way, a small pile of dead bodies caught his attention. Lee slowly moved away towards the pile. Two spearmen were standing near the pile and inspecting the dead bodies. When they saw Lee coming over, they moved out of his way in respect.
Lee squatted with one knee near the dead bodies and acted like he's inspecting it. In fact, he was continuously absorbing their essence. D told him that until a being is completely disintegrated, it is possible to absorb some quantities of Essence from it. Lee's action caught the attention of the whole village. They slowly gathered around the pile to see what their saviour was doing.
Lee completed absorbing all the essence from the wolves. When he stepped out of the pile, villagers were flabbergasted. On his shoulder was the body of the King Wolf. Freya frowned at this sight and enquired at Darwin.
"Are you sure this youngster is a human?! Did you make sure that he's not an orc or ogre?!"
"Yes, I have. My senses are accurate and correct. He's definitely a human." (Darwin)
Lee placed the king wolf's body outside the pile and 'inspected' it. While absorbing, a notification came up.
=====
Beast core detected. Absorb?
=====
'What?! D, what does that mean?!'
[Beast core is something only beings above a certain level can form. It is the condensed form of essence. It looks spherical, and its content will be far purer than conventional essence.]
'Interesting! Absorb.'
While Lee was clearing his doubts, Darwin, Freya and her companions came forward to him. They were wondering what he was doing. Darwin was scratching his head with a confused expression.
Lee's right hand was examining the cut while his left was absorbing the concentrated essence from the body. Lee saw that the hide was thick and the cut was clean. He guessed that it was due to its unbelievable smoothness.
After absorbing the essence, he stood up and stretched his back.
'D, sell all these corpses to the Shop.'
[You sure?! There's a lot of attention on us! I advise to do it some time alone.]
Lee turned around and asked the confused Darwin.
"Darwin, what can we do about these corpses?!" (Lee)
"Oh, it's yours since you killed them all yourself. You can sell them when you reach the city. Their hides are worth two silver coins. The king grade's beast core can be sold at a higher price."
[Not anymore, I'm afraid.]
'I have their consent. But how can I bring all these to the city?!'
[I have an idea. Buy a Spatial Ring from the Shop. Then sell all these to the Shop. It will disappear and they'll believe that it's all stored in your ring. Foolproof!]
'Ok…..bring the shop interface'
The Shop section for ornaments appeared before him. When he was scrolling through the products, what others saw was Lee in deep-thinking with his arms folded.
The crowd had started to disperse. Darwin and his company were preparing their bags before departure. Freya and her companions would join them.
After a few moments, Lee came across what he was looking for. He bought a Spatial Ring that was worth 300 Essence. His mind hesitated to spend Essence, but it was necessary to cover up the existence of Inventory. He clicked purchase and the screen vanished. The next second, Lee opened his right hand, feeling something inside. In his palm lay a ring with metallic grey colour. He held it in front of him and closely inspected it. It didn't have any luxurious carving. It was a plain ring.
The white-robed cultivator woman in Freya's squad saw the ring and was astonished. She nearly screamed in shock.
"It's a Spatial Ring!!"
Her remark attracted the attention of warriors upon Lee. He wasn't aware of this commotion, so he immediately wore it in his left arm's ring finger. It fit his finger like a tailored suit.
Only after unconsciously glancing at the warriors did he understand the gravity of the situation. They all have heard of such a treasure, but have not touched it once. And here is Lee wearing it just like that. How could they not be jealous?!
Without further ado, Lee began to sell the bodies to the Shop. The presence of ring convinced all that he's actually storing them. After cleaning the mess, he turned around and walked towards Darwin.